Looking for best bets for the upcoming game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins on Thursday at 7:00 PM ET? You’ve found the right place. In the piece below, we provide our picks and predictions to help you make smart betting decisions for this matchup.

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Lightning vs. Bruins Picks

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Total Pick

Pick OU: Over 5.5 (model projecting 6.1 goals)

• Tampa Bay and its opponent have combined to outscore Thursday’s over/under (5.5 goals) 21 times this season.
• This season, 21 of Boston’s games have featured more than 5.5 goals.
• The over/under for this game (5.5) is 0.8 less than the combined scoring averages for the Lightning (3.68) and Bruins (2.58).
• These two teams are allowing a combined 5.9 goals per game, 0.4 more than this contest’s over/under.

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Moneyline Pick

Lightning Moneyline: -152

• The Lightning have been victorious in 15 of their 24 games when they were favored on the moneyline this season (62.5%).
• Tampa Bay is 8-8 (victorious in 50.0% of its games) when it has played with moneyline odds of -152 or shorter.
• Based on this contest’s moneyline, the Lightning have an implied probability of 60.3% to win.

Bruins Moneyline: +127

• Boston has four wins when playing as the underdog on the moneyline this season (which has happened 14 times).
• The Bruins are winless in games with moneyline odds of +127 or longer (in six chances).
• Boston’s implied probability to win is 44.1% based on the moneyline odds.

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Score Prediction

Prediction:
Tampa Bay 4, Boston 2

Lightning Points Leaders

• A productive offensive player this season for Tampa Bay, Nikita Kucherov has put up 55 points.
• Brayden Point is another of Tampa Bay’s important contributors currently with 46 total points (24 goals and 22 assists) to his name.
• Tampa Bay’s offensive effort is aided by Brandon Hagel’s 46 points. He’s contributed 25 assists.
• As Tampa Bay’s top goalie, Andrei Vasilevskiy has recorded 17 wins and 12 losses this season while allowing 69 goals with 728 saves.

Bruins Points Leaders

• David Pastrnak is a top offensive contributor for his club with 42 points (1.0 per game). He has totaled 17 goals and 25 assists in 43 games (playing 19:46 per game).
• Brad Marchand’s 31 points this season, including 15 goals and 16 assists, make him one of the top offensive threats for Boston.
• Boston’s Pavel Zacha has 21 points, courtesy of nine goals (fifth on team) and 12 assists (sixth).
• Jeremy Swayman has an .893 save percentage (48th in the league), with 717 total saves, while conceding 86 goals (2.9 goals against average). He has compiled a 13-14-3 record between the posts for Boston this season.

Lightning’s Schedule

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Bruins’ Schedule

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Tampa Bay vs. Boston Game Info

• Date: Thursday, January 9, 2025
• Time: 7:00 PM ET
• How to watch on TV: ESPN+
• Live Stream: Watch this game on Fubo (Regional restrictions may apply)
• Live Stream: Watch this game on ESPN+
• Location: Tampa, Florida
• Venue: Amalie Arena

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